Kern, Prater set to kick for Broncos

Inexperienced punter, kicker out to prove they belong

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 31, 2008 at 6:47 p.m.

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Photo by David Zalubowski © AP

Broncos kicker Matt Prater will replace Jason Elam, who left the Broncos as a free agent this offseason and signed with Atlanta.

Photo by David Zalubowski © AP

Broncos rookie Brett Kern, above, beat out Sam Paulescu for the role as the Broncos punter this season.

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It's Saturday morning, the players have been told to keep within earshot of their phones for a slew of roster cuts, and Brett Kern's cell phone keeps ringing.

Kern, with seemingly a 50-50 shot at winning the Denver Broncos' punting job after a four-month competition with Sam Paulescu, is walking around a local mall trying to ignore the day's implications - and that annoying ring tone.

He puts the phone to his ear.

It isn't the team - again. It's one of his buddies back home playing a practical joke to see how high his blood pressure will be when he clicks the answer button.

"I didn't think it was too funny at the time," Kern admitted Sunday.

The undrafted rookie had the last laugh, as it turns out.

Paulescu got the call Kern had dreaded, and with it, Kern and his new bride actually could stop in one of the mall's shops and comfortably whip out the old debit card, knowing an NFL game check was imminent.

"It's been really tough. Physically tough. Mentally tough," Kern said of his battle with Paulescu, who Kern says deserved the job as much, if not more, than he.

"I'm just glad things worked out in my favor," Kern said.

Kern punted eight times in the preseason for a 47.0-yard average and 38.1 net, with a long of 63, one touchback, two inside the 20 and one blocked. Paulescu's statistics were actually slightly better in the four preseason games - 49.6-yard gross and 44.8 net with three inside the 20 - but it was a bigger-picture decision, encapsulating all the summer and offseason workouts.

Special-teams coach Scott O'Brien pointed to Kern's ability to handle the ball and improve his get-off times, gains as a holder for place-kicker Matt Prater and control of the ball as factors in the decision.

"The biggest thing is, we knew he had a big leg, but it was the improvement he showed and the upside that he showed us, not only with the strength but the consistency, to be good at what he does in the National Football League."

Now, Kern, a finalist for the Ray Guy Award as a college senior at Toledo, isn't battling another in-house competitor but is trying to match his own lofty expectations. At the same time, his decision to sign with Denver in April when he had other opportunities looks like a smart move.

"I'm ready to show everybody I belong here," he said.

Kern, 22, and Prater, 24, are the team's "baby boomers."

Combined, they have four games of NFL experience, which will either be proved a blessing or curse beginning in the season-opener Sept. 8 in Oakland.

But there's also an opportunity to have two young players grow into a long-standing duo, the way Jason Elam and Tom Rouen were in the 1990s.

"We have a lot of confidence together that I think will show in the season," said Kern, adding that he knows he'll have to continue to produce or else he can be replaced. "We really feel we'll be able to get the job done and be able to create a pretty dynamic duo in the NFL, as far as special teams are concerned. We're both confident. People say we're young and stuff like that, but when push comes to shove, we're both going to go out there and do the job."

Prater, who had stops in Detroit, Miami and Atlanta to prepare him for his current gig, missed his first field goal in each of the first two preseason games but made 9-of-11 attempts, including his last six. Eleven of his 22 kickoffs resulted in touchbacks.

"If preseason and practice are any indication, we've got a good setup," tight end Nate Jackson said.

"I feel comfortable with the guys," O'Brien added. "I've been around young guys before - not a lot of them. But they really have a good start and they have to start somewhere. In Matt's case, I'm sure the experience has helped him. But for Brett, it's all new at the highest level you can play at."

But Kern isn't ready to deliver in one respect. He joked he already has payback in mind for his buddies who got on his bad side Saturday while he strolled the mall.

"I might tell them I got them tickets to a game," Kern said. "And don't."

• September 1, 2008

  7:56 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  incognitoboy writes:

  well, brett.....now your payback is ruined. unless your buddy can't read......

  congratulations on getting one of the most thankless jobs in denver. now don't screw it up ;-)

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